The Dallas Cowboys have been facing backlash on social media for a recent marketing agreement with the gun-themed Black Rifle Coffee Co.
On Tuesday, the Dallas Cowboys announced the partnership with Black Rifle Coffee on Twitter just one day after a gunman shot and killed six people attending a July 4 parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
“Please welcome America’s Coffee to America’s Team,” the Cowboys said while linking to a contest sponsored by the coffee company.
U.S. Army veteran Evan Hafer founded Black Rifle Coffee, and the company reaffirmed his ongoing support for veterans when announcing the partnership.
“BRCC is proud to partner with the Dallas Cowboys, who are strongly committed to our mission of supporting veterans, first responders, and America’s men and women in uniform,” a Black Rifle spokesman said. “The long-planned announcement was timed to coincide with the Independence Day holiday — America’s Team. America’s Coffee. America’s Birthday.”
Though based in Utah, Black Rifle Coffee has strong ties to Texas and established its first brick-and-mortar store in San Antonio, where the company has its second corporate office.
Social media users, however, were not buying the Dallas Cowboys’ patriotic endorsement of Black Rifle Coffee in the wake of the Highland Park shooting.
Black Rifle Coffee also faced backlash from conservatives in 2020 and 2021 when it attested to having no relationship or partnership with Kyle Rittenhouse before he had been acquitted of murder based on self-defense. The public repudiation came after BlazeTV host Elijah Schaffer posted a photo of Rittenhouse wearing a Black Rifle Coffee shirt alongside the caption, “Kyle Rittenhouse drinks the best coffee in America.”
Shaffer later deleted the post, and company CEO Evan Hafer said in a statement that the company does “not sponsor” and does not “have a relationship with the 17-year-old facing charges in Kenosha, WI.”